The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Ma (million years ago), to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Ma
The Carboniferous was a time of glaciation, low sea level and mountain building; a minor marine extinction event occurred in the middle of the period. The name comes from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing". Many beds of coal were laid down all over the world during this period, hence the name.